Moderate Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee, a frequent foe of President George W. Bush's policies, battled for political survival against a conservative challenger on Tuesday as voters in nine states selected candidates for November's election. In early returns, Chafee opened a 56-44 percent lead over Cranston Mayor Stephen Laffey with about 4 percent of votes counted in a race crucial to Republican hopes of retaining Senate control. The White House and national Republicans had rallied to Chafee's defense in heavily Democratic Rhode Island because they believed his moderate views offered them the best chance to keep the seat out of the hands of Democrats. ... http://abcnews.go.com

Lawyers for two U.S. soldiers accused of murder in a raid in Iraq requested a new preliminary hearing in the case, saying key witnesses and evidence were improperly excluded the first time. Lawyers for Spc. William Hunsaker of Missouri and Pfc. Corey Clagett of Moncks Corner, S.C., last week asked for a new Article 32 hearing, the military equivalent to a civilian grand jury that determines whether there's sufficient evidence for trial. The men are among four soldiers accused of illegally shooting three men during a raid outside Samarra, about 60 miles north of Baghdad, on May 9. An Army investigator has recommended the soldiers face the death penalty if convicted. The soldiers, members of the Fort Campbell, Ky.-based 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, claim they were ordered to "kill all military-age males" on the island. ...http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2427418

Islamic militants tried to storm the U.S. Embassy in Damascus on Tuesday using automatic rifles, hand grenades and at least one van rigged with explosives, the government said. Four people were killed in the brazen attack, including three of the assailants, but no Americans were hurt. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. An al-Qaida offshoot group called Jund al-Sham was suspected, said Syria’s ambassador to the United States, Imad Moustapha, in comments to CNN. The radical fundamentalist group has been blamed for several attacks in Syria in recent years, he said. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice praised Syrian security agents for repelling the attack, but added it was too early to know who may have been behind it. The attackers apparently did not breach the high walls surrounding the embassy’s white compound in the city’s diplomatic neighborhood. ...http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14794377/

Air passengers could have their conversations and movements monitored as work intensifies to design the terrorist-proof aeroplane.Researchers in Britain and Europe are looking at technology that would see a comprehensive network of microphones and cameras installed throughout the aircraft, including the lavatory, which would be linked to a computer.This computer would be "trained" to pick up suspicious behaviour, said Catherine Neary, of Bae Systems, one of the British participants in a £24 million European Union project Safety of Aircraft in Future European Environment. "It would pick passengers who are behaving oddly or in an unruly manner," she said. "They may appear nervous, or could be getting up while the plane is taxiing. If someone looks as if they are praying, the microphones would be able to tell if they were by picking up key words."...http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/09/11/nplanes11.xml

An Israeli soldier has been killed in a clash in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military says. Palestinian militants say they killed him and injured others in an ambush. The clash took place near the Kissufim crossing with Israel in central Gaza during an Israeli military incursion. A joint statement by Hamas's military wing and the Popular Resistance Committees said the ambush occurred just 500m inside Gaza. The militant groups say they seized the dead soldier's weapon. Israeli forces have carried out many incursions and air strikes on Gaza since the capture in late June of Israeli Cpl Gilad Shalit in a cross-border raid by Palestinian militants. Gaza sealed The Israeli soldier is the second to die in Gaza since the capture of Cpl Shalit. The other soldier was killed in a "friendly fire" incident....http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5337566.stm

Uganda has dropped its deadline for the conclusion of peace talks, while rebels continue to gather in assembly points, as agreed in a ceasefire. The rebel Lord's Resistance Army's leader Joseph Kony, is said to be near an assembly point, but it is unclear if he has crossed into southern Sudan. The rebels have been trekking on foot through northern Uganda since a cessation of hostilities last month. President Yoweri Museveni had given the LRA until 12 September to reach a deal. "There's not really a deadline any more," government delegation spokesman Capt Paddy Ankunda told Reuters news agency. The chief mediator at the talks, Riek Machar, says several hundred rebels and Mr Otti are now at the assembly points - one of which is near Uganda and the other near the Democratic Republic of Congo....http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5337888.stm